Volume 2, Number 49
Published Saturdays Dec
9, 2006
Due to Holiday Activities, The Dec 16 Edition will be up Saturday Mid-Day.
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Hualapai Water Treatment Plan Lease (Click Here)
~ Guest Editorial(s)
- Another Change to Increase Southern Density?
- Blatant Insult to Scottsdale Citizens....
- View Past City Council Meetings
~Christmas Decoration Photos (Click to see Pictures)
~ Home of the Week (Click Here) (Picture)
~ Information You Can Use
~ Shout and Spout (Your chance to Shout or Spout & we don't need your name)
~ Thought for the Week -- Benjamin Franklin
~ Quote of the Week -- Thomas Jefferson
Other Stuff of Interest
~ Look up Prior Editions? Click a on date to open.
~ $15 Million Dollar City Boondoggle Uncovered
We received a tip from deep inside city hall that something had gone drastically wrong with a secret deal that had been made by Jan Dolan and her department and was approved by the document being signed by Mayor Manross but apparently without any review or input from the City Legal Department nor approval of the City Council. The only information given was that it had to do with a lease signed by Manross connected to the Hualapai Water Treatment Plant. After digging and scratching for the information necessary for a few weeks, we were finally able to uncover, then see the tip of the iceberg more clearly.
The Facts as we know them so far:
October 15, 2001
November 30, 2005:
The terms of the Lease are as follows:
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The lease shall run from November 11, 2005 and end on November 10, 2015.
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The annual lease payment shall be equal to twenty (20%) percent of the Appraised Land Value as determined by Sales Application #53-107266 (see lease).
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The state appraised value as of the signing of the lease was approximately $12,000. making the initial annual lease payment $2,400.
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Future lease payments would be calculated based on the new annual appraised value and the CPI.
December 12, 2005: Council approves City Manager or her designee to bid on the three (3) State Trust Land Parcels totaling 6.9 acres. (Click Here to see 32 pages of attached paperwork including the lease, maps, and council resolution(s) concerning this situation).
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Sometime between December 2005 and the Auction date of July 2006, construction had apparently begun at full speed on the property which was in advance of the city having Fee Simple ownership (or total legal ownership) of the property.
July 18, 2006: The three (3) parcels were put up for Auction and the City Managers office, under the total control of Jan Dolan, made their final high bid of $6,000,000 on the parcels, but then lost the bid to a higher bid of $6,165,000 from Rob Kimball acting on behalf of Hualapai LLC who had obviously been paying attention to the sloppy, inept, and secret back door way the city manager, city attorney, and mayor had been doing city business.
Historically, leases on properties pass with the land because they are part and parcel to the value paid for or bid on said property.
The bidder paid $6,165,000 for the property with the AZ State stated land value of $4,800,000, excluding the thereto attached lease. The estimated value of the land with the lease in place as is historically practiced on any sale, is right at $15,000,000;
That’s 15 million tax dollars Ladies and Gentlemen that should NOT have had to be spent on decisions that would have never been made by a prudent, knowledgeable, and careful administration.
The Games they played have now come back to bite them publicly.......
Now the mayor and city manager were in a real pickle.
How do they get the land back into city ownership legally without causing a big problem or worse yet, public humiliation and condemnation of their inept, inappropriate, and possibly illegal and unethical actions?
How about sneak in a City Council Executive Session on August 29, 2006 to discuss the problem and its resolution. Most citizens know nothing of the problem so they won’t know what has transpired due to stupidity and secrecy of the "Tyrannical Trio".
The words "Hualapai" and "Expert Witness" are in the title of the council action so it hopefully won’t raise any flags with the taxpayers.
In addition, and most thankfully for them, the meeting could not be entered into any records because according to State Law, it is secret and anyone divulging information or testimony given during such meetings has violated State Law and will consequently lose their elected or appointed position and be subject to other avenues of punishment including fines.
Mayor Manross, City Manager Dolan, and the city attorney Deb Robberson, are now trying to say that the lease does not go with the ground. If that is so, the city is trespassing on private property and is in arrears on the lease. In addition, any and all improvements on any lease property belong to the owner of record, not the Lessee so the city will lose any and all improvements installed thereon should they lose any court case.
Now, to slip the blunder quickly and quietly past the taxpayers……..
On this coming Monday, December 10th, as "Consent Item #15" which makes it look like a normal, small action with little money involved ($40,000), the Council is suppose to approve the money to hire still another "Expert" appraiser to "establish the true" value of the three (3) parcels on which they lost the bid. They are obviously hoping that the "new" expert would find for them in reducing the true appraised value of the property.
The costs of Back Door Secrecy are very Expensive.
So now you see that the secret back door dealings of
the Manross/Dolan/Robberson administration are going to cost them their
integrity and the taxpayer’s mega bucks no matter how it comes out.
They assumed, (and we all know what happens when you assume) that no one
else would bid on the property.
If Manross, Robberson, and Dolan had plans for the plant that didn’t immediately include the extra land, and if they waited until after the auction to do the building, there would have never been a problem and the land would have been acquired for a fair and possibly below market price and most possibly without other bidders in the mix.
Do Not fault the Winning Bidder
We cannot fault the winning bidder for doing what he did. He may be a shark or snake in some minds but he’s also a sharp business person watching where he can possibly make a fast buck as some would have tried to do had they known what was going on secretly behind closed doors.
He paid a far price and if the property is condemned, and in my opinion, he should get whatever he is due at or above what he paid for the property including the value of the lease through November 10th, 2015. We would understand if that portion was negotiable.
The money he paid for the land and the attached lease went into of State Schools Fund where it belongs.
Sadly, the lack of professionalism, the obvious underhanded secrecy, the lack of patience, and the total ineptness on the part of Manross, Dolan, and Robberson to handle simple problems could well cost the taxpayers of Scottsdale up to $15 million dollars in addition to legal fees which will be incurred because of this costly and ill-advised fiasco.
Having been a real estate broker in 2 state for over 20 years, I can tell you that courts don't look kindly on cities which take unfair advantage of citizens. That's to say that the city should not get preferential treatment just because they wanted or planned to purchase the property no matter the circumstances. The courts question to the city will simply be "why didn't you wait 6 months until it came up for auction before doing anything with it".
In my humble opinion, this is just the tip of a much larger and very ominous iceberg created by, as I now call them, the "Tyrannical Trio".
HOW MUCH LONGER???
How much longer do the city taxpayers of Scottsdale have to put up with the chicanery these three have thrust upon the entire city through their greed, tunnel vision and ineptness?
We have put up with lie after lie before and
after concerning Los Arcos (SkySong) which still continues to
this day.
We were all totally embarrassed to hear our
city attorney, on city TV during a council meeting, publicly ask
the losing ambulance service how the contract should be written
for the new ambulance service which won the new contract.
We are likewise embarrassed when she asks the
mayor or city manager for the decision she wants. This person
needs to be fully independent of the council, the mayor and the
city manager so proper decisions can be formed based on Law, not
what some lame official wants.
We all have to contend with an unnecessary
over population of Downtown Bars thanks to Manross/Dolan.
We have CSA putting in "low income housing"
with Manross signing the contracts without council knowledge or
review.
We have DMB knocking on the city vault
wanting to change height limits plus asking for a $50
million dollar subsidy for something DMB was happy to have
council approved at the original height without a subsidy in
2002.
We live with city manager Jan Dolan’s failure
to reduce traffic congestion and widen streets while she, the
Transportation Director Mary O’Connor, and the mayor are pushing
light rail by hiring Charlie Hales from Portland Oregon as the
consultant to the Transportation panel. Charlie’s company just
happens to be the biggest seller and provider of modern
streetcars nationwide.
Hiring Jon Talton as a "neutral" Keynote
speaker for the evening Kick off of the Town Hall Meeting Series
when in fact he is, in our opinion, a leftist, a high density
urbanist, and an ultra liberal socialist in both his opinions
and his lack of attention to what his job was on the evening he
spoke. Obviously Manross made a very terrible mistake thinking
any one would subscribe to his ill-mannered demeanor and his off
the wall rants and crude and boorish observations of those of us
who live in the city of Scottsdale.
We constantly dodge while paying for the
construction of traffic calming devices and "Street Furniture"
as well as rusty iron "art" work planted along roadsides where
they are not needed and not wanted, costing millions of dollars
for construction and that doesn’t include the annual maintenance
necessary to keep them looking and working as intended, while
streets like Indian School Road is like driving on a washboard
road. Is the city ready to pay when an auto accident throws and
innocent person against one of these roadside rusty iron
"beauties" decapitating them?
The city manager now controls both the
treasurer action as well as the city managers position which
allows her to work and move money without questions except from
the council… maybe.
The mayor and city manager now want to
eliminate the Citizens Budget Committee taking even more
openness and citizen input from the taxpayers.
Our children suffer because of the city
managers inability to prioritize necessary tasks which causes
the city’s failure to complete parks such as those in Greyhawk,
and to rebuild or refurbish those in the southern portion of the
city which are in dire need of help.
The entire city suffers because of the
Manross/Dolan dire lack of prioritizing the needs of the city as
reported and requested by the taxpayers.
And finally, how long do loyal, productive
city employees in many departments have to be run over by the
new head of the city Human Resources Department because the city
mayor or city manager want some newer employees promoted while
other deserving employees are left to suffer under someone who
hasn’t a clue how to do the job or run a department?
When a city employee has to teach a new employee who makes more then the employee doing the training, we have a serious problem: Welcome to the "new" Scottsdale...
Is this how we want our City Officials to handle city situations?
The morale in this city is at an all time low, especially in the Code Enforcement Division and the Human Resources Department.
Isn’t it the city managers job to make sure morale is high so productivity and loyalty stays high?
Isn’t it the mayor and councils job to control the city manager so those issues are resolved as soon as possible?
The city council has a chance to change part of the problem, the city managers review is also scheduled for Monday and the City Council needs to step up and do the job that needs to be done: Fire Jan Dolan post haste before things get still worse.
Isn’t it time for the citizens of Scottsdale to ask for the immediate resignations of Dolan, Manross, and Robberson for malfeasance, ineptness, and unethical behavior while in office?
~ Administration Short Changes Employees on Education
It has come to our attention yet again that the city of Scottsdale has zero problem stealing employees from other agencies and sometimes pays them more than their seasoned Scottsdale peers just to get them to work for the City of Scottsdale. On the other hand the Manross/Dolan administration has no problem letting quality employees who may not agree with administration actions and expenditures of late to leave or force them out.
Sometimes the city pays more even when the "stolen" employee has less ability and drive then current employees who have shown they are loyal to the city. This administration has also been known to hire a person who doesn't meet the qualifications as stated in the Job Description Sheet and then change the Job Description Sheet to fit the employee so he/she will be able to stay on. That doesn’t make a qualified and seasoned employee feel very wanted, needed, or a part of the Scottsdale team.
When it comes to providing college tuition for current city employees to improve their education, the city will pay a maximum of $2,000 annually while Maricopa County pays up to $10,000 annually and the county per hour rates are very competitive with the city of Scottsdale even though the county doesn’t have the ability to generate income as does the city of Scottsdale.
If we read it right, the city "Employee Value Statement" states in part "Learn and Grow Continuously". With the cost of tuition increasing annually (thank you Michael Crow of ASU and the Board of Regents) and the amount the city spends stealing other entities employees who then move on again after they establish themselves, wouldn’t it make much more sense to offer the same amount of tuition money the county offers to help advance the training and education of the employees the city currently has so that they can regain a sense of belonging and stability while increasing their loyalty to the city?
The employees of Scottsdale have always been most generally a cut above the employees of other cities. They dressed neater, worked hard, respected the city equipment, respected the city’s history, and always gave of themselves willingly when asked without asking for anything in return.
Since the Manross/Dolan administration began, and then even faster with the addition of Teri Traaen as the General Manager of Human Resources, everything is going down hill like a snowball headed for hell with no end in sight.
I have lived in Scottsdale for over 25 years and have never heard so many complaints from employees, nor have I ever seen so many employees leave the employ of Scottsdale. The planning department and now Human Resources being two of the worst losers in the last 3 years. It does seem that Frank Gray is turning the corner with the Planning Department people which is an excellent sign but those employees need still more help.
Herb Drinkwater as mayor would spin out of control in his grave if he knew how his precious city employees were now being treated. He stated many times that the employees of Scottsdale were the spokes of the wheels that made Scottsdale great and made the city roll smoothly along. He knew almost every employees name because he was in the field talking with them on a regular basis. Manross and her sidekick Dolan don’t know 20% of the current employees and we don’t have that many more than when our favorite "Mr. Scottsdale" lead the city.
When you add all of these issues up, its very plain where all the morale has gone, why it continues to plummet, and why this city is going to be the biggest loser in the valley in far more ways than one very shortly if we don’t clean house in some of the city management positions in the City Organizational chart immediately.
This city used to have great pride in how well its employees were treated and how hard they worked for their superiors, proud at how they were able to advance through education and internal training, and how loyal they were. We used to be able to put our employees up against any city in the valley, but not now, and it’s not the fault of the city employees, but solely the fault of the Manross/Dolan administration who uses the employees, then just "spits them out" as has-beens when they don’t "bow down" to city authority which is totally out of touch with the employees and the taxpayers.
The Manross/Dolan administration would rather spend millions of dollars foolishly on huge subsidies to developers, 198 year useless leases, under the table/backroom deals, Photo Radar, traffic circles and roundabouts, and other less that needed expenditures, instead of taking care of the city employees who are the Spokes in the Wheel that helps Scottsdale roll smoothly along rather than limp slowly over the rough rocky road of administration induced potholes and broken roadbeds.
Let’s start treating our World Class employees of Scottsdale like they work for a World Class City.
~Do
the Above Editorials Make You Angry?
They Really Should!!
Sadly, it most probably makes the three horsewomen of the "Society of City Secrets" even more angry that it makes the citizens whom have read the above articles because the "Society of City Secrets" has been caught doing things that are very possibly against the Ethics Code of the city and they have been exposed doing things behind closed doors without the proper "Balances of Power" in place which might also be illegal.
We elected a City Council (Legislative Branch), to balance the power of the Executive Branch (Mayor & City Manager), and the Judicial Branch (City Attorney and City Legal Department). Currently, that cannot happen when the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch don't consult with the Legislative Branch on what they are doing.
It's far worse and extremely suspect when the Executive Branch doesn't consult with either of the other two branch's of the "Balance of Power".
The City Manager Jan Dolan, City Attorney Deborah Robberson, City Auditor Cheryl Dreska, and City Clerk Carolyn Jagger all have a Job Performance Reviews on Monday, December 11th. If you are so inclined, email or call the city council and tell them how you feel about how things have been going and what improvements you would like to see or whom you would like to see removed from office.
If you feel, after reading the above editorials, that any of those Charter Officers being reviewed have not performed to the levels of Honesty, Ethics, and Openness as required by the Citizens of Scottsdale, ask for their resignation or for the City Council to fire those whom have not lived up to their responsibilities to the citizens and the city of Scottsdale.
If you think they're doing a great job, tell them that also.
Feedback@scottsdaleaz.gov OR citycouncil@scottsddaleaz.gov
It's rather apparent that Councilman Ron "McOsterman" McCullagh has zero interest that everyone is watching how he handles this situation.
It is also very sadly obvious that he really couldn't care less which is really sad because Ron is actually a very likeable, intelligent, and honest person; just misguided on this subject.
I guess we'll have to assume the city did pay......... Unless, of course Mr. "McOsterman" sends something verifiable in writing stating otherwise.................
We will continue to wait patiently, with weekly updates, for him to come to his senses.
~ The Manross Vision for Scottsdale..... A New Logo
Monstrous Sky-High Rise
Buildings and All,
Does any more need to be said about
her plans?
~ Guest Editorial(s)
~ COPP Correct, Citizens
Ignored
With the DMB request for the height extension for their One Scottsdale project and for a $50 million subsidy, another line has been drawn in the sand for a growing number of people in our City.
When we went to Council back in 2003 asking for redevelopment standards and language to be placed into our planning process, it appeared that Council, Mayor and City Manager were not listening.
Increased heights set a precedent now as most projects, including those in the North, are now "infill" projects. There is no language in our planning process that deals with infill -heights or densities.
For our mature single family neighborhoods that could place high-rise developments very close to individually owned homes.
We will be seeing more residential over commercial developments as Scottsdale tries to deal with increasing growth of population. That is how communities deal with sustainability, economic revitalization and housing. That is also what "One Scottsdale" is all about.
For over 25 years Scottsdale has depended upon master planned communities for growth and planning, which means developers pretty much called the shots. While that was happening, no one was paying attention to what would be needed when we were built out. That is leaderships fault.
Since 1996 south Scottsdale residents have been asking for sound steps to be taken to address redevelopment, as many of the businesses that serve our neighborhoods moved out.
The Scottsdale Community Council has tried to be a forum to air those concerns and the Scottsdale Coalition came about in 2003 to try and keep focus on these issues.
The group, TOPS has been doing the same regarding the Downtown redevelopment.
Presently, the focus is on the request for building height by DMB (Desert Ridge developers, DC Ranch and many more). They have already gotten concessions for that design and now they are back for more, and the subsidy.
Our City Manager has said that she chose to take each project on a case by case basis, which means every time a project comes on the board, our residents will be tossed into turmoil requiring us to go to Planning Commission, DRB, and Council meetings to weigh in on the propriety of a project going up in our neighborhoods.
Until Council recognizes that they need to stick to the planning language and create redevelopment/infill guidelines we stand the chance of seeing our residential neighborhoods negatively impacted and property values go down.
The steering committee of the Scottsdale Coalition supports the stand take by COPP. Please let me know your thoughts.
Nancy Cantor
Chair, The Scottsdale Coalition
~ World Class Scottsdale vs.
Urbanized, Faceless Mess
Thomas DePaolo was way off base in his "Let’s Split our divided city in two" My Turn column in Saturday’s Republic. There is certainly a division within the city but it isn’t a North/South one, but rather the urban minded against those who want to maintain Scottsdale’s current high quality of life and reputation for being a low density high quality bedroom and tourist community.
There are just as many people in South Scottsdale concerned with the push to urbanize the city as there are in the northern part of the city. He implies that people who live in south Scottsdale want urbanization. I know many residents and business owners in south Scottsdale who are just as upset about the current push toward higher density, light rail, higher buildings and everything else that erodes the character of this city, as residents in the north are.
Contrary to his opinion, residents from both the northern and southern parts of the city do talk, support each other, and work together to fight the urbanization he seems to want. It is the developers and the press who want to make everything a north vs. south issue because it is easier to push inappropriate projects through divided resistance and it makes better headlines.
The fundamental issues, and threats to our quality of life, we all face are the same regardless of where we live or the character of the area we live in. Those of us who value our quality of life and care about what happens to our city realize we must work together and not be separated if we are to be successful, and will continue to do so.
Yes, there is a "Them vs. Us" division, but it isn’t north vs. south. The real division is between those who value what Scottsdale is vs. those who want to change it into just another big faceless city.
Howard Myers
Scottsdale
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~Letters to the Editor ~
letters@scottsdaleactivist.com ~ Another Change to Increase Southern Density? Members of the City Council, I have to inform you of concerns to the rezoning of this property from C-4 to C-3 under the circumstances. First of all, the request by the applicant is the same for both 16-UP-2003 #2 and 10-ZN-2006 and gives no information as to what is intended to go in this building that abuts a residential area that requires the city to rezone this property. Also the Council must consider the long term effects of this zoning change on that same community area, and I have been over this with the city time and time again regarding the granting of these zoning changes along residential boundaries when there may be ulterior motives behind such changes. In comparison of the 2 classifications in this request it can be clearly noted that the only business the applicant currently provides with the city is contained within the Liquor Industry and in fact has one establishment named Sugar Daddys directly in front this building. I am not going into the history of this establishment and gunplay and other things that it has been noted for. Noting the C-4 Zoning, the only thing that is not really allowed in this zoning is a liquor establishment or Restaurant with a liquor license under section 5.1603 of the C-4 zoning codes. The applicant states the use of both floors of the building, which under the current zoning I see no reason that he cannot do, however under the requested zoning there is the issue of allowing liquor establishments to again abut a residential area. Storage is claimed for the First floor which under C-4 you can do. Craftsman and many Artisans functions can be conducted under the current zoning. So what is the drive under the stated intent of the applicant that would require the city to force a zoning change that could indeed have negative impacts to the surrounding community since the use permit for his Bar in front is tied into this issue by both applications? If you allow the current zoning to be changed from C-4 to C-3 than again the city invites nothing more to the community than the very real possibility that at some point in the future this building could become the next Sugar Daddys or something to that effect with two stories. Yes it can, you will have granted the zoning change for this to happen no matter if he has to come back for a CUP or not! By granting this change in zoning when there is no clear need for it to be changed, and the fact that changing such zoning could harm the residential area and open it up to liquor uses that this city already has by the tons makes absolutely no sense in this issue and should not be granted. As for our Mayor I must remind her that conflicts of interest in this issue under the matter of campaign contributions to her re-election also carries into the ethics codes by the clear mention of section 24-9 section B and the cities "decision making process" which includes the words "ZONING". The mayor collected thousands of dollars from the applicant in her re-election campaign as well as money from employees of the applicant and places her squarely in the category of a conflict of interest as well as a violation of the Ethics Policy if she does not recuse herself from voting. I am also sure that her lackey the City Attorney will make sure she is covered somehow in mysterious legal mumbo jumbo to say she is okay and can vote, but that is okay Mary, everyone is already seeing how you work in this city. What the rest of this council needs to understand is the change from C-4 zoning to C-3 Zoning is nothing more than a sham to ensure the future use of this property to become a liquor establishment by the applicant or even worse yet down the road, for it to become the liquor establishment of someone else and still abutting the residential community. When does the community get a break in the issue of poor zoning change decisions that are continually heaped upon us? Respectfully, Michael Merrill
~ Blatant Insult to Scottsdale Citizens.... Beverly Lloyd-Lee’s "Let pro’s manage luxury project" editorial in the October 20th Arizona Republic is an insult to both the leadership of this city, and its citizens. She says that the city council "have neither the qualifications nor the creativity" to manage or make decisions regarding the One Scottsdale project. She goes on to say "it is difficult to understand why the City Council would even ask for public input. That is asking for an opinion from the unqualified.", obviously stating her opinion that citizens of Scottsdale have no right to criticize this project or have any input on it. I find her attitude extremely arrogant. The city council is elected by the citizens of this city, not by developers, and over the years Scottsdale’s citizens have provided valuable input as to how their city should grow. They have even had major positive impacts on projects such as the Indian Bend Wash. I have found that most active citizens of this city know what they want their city to be when it grows up, even if sometimes their elected officials loose sight of that vision. I don’t always agree with other citizens or our elected officials, but I vigorously defend their right to their opinion and their right to express it. To even imply that the Council has no right to make decisions on "One Scottsdale" and also shouldn’t solicit the opinions of interested citizens, who voted them into office, mocks our entire democratic system, and desire for open government. Perhaps Ms. Lloyd-Lee would prefer a dictatorship run by her favorite developer or so called "experts". I happen to love Scottsdale because citizens have a good idea of what is good about their city and stand up for keeping it that way. Personally, I think DMB is a responsible developer. "One Scottsdale" may be a good project or maybe not, and their latest request may be justified, but that is no reason to criticize and circumvent the normal public input process or the power granted to members of our City Council by the voters. We elected our representatives to insure that the city maintains its character and quality as it grows, and they need to do that job. Who would she suggest make the decision of what projects should be left to the "experts" and which ones need to be scrutinized closely to insure that they fit in with the vision of the future? If all decisions were left to her "experts" (developers) our city wouldn’t be as great as it is and many of us wouldn’t have chosen it to be our home. Howard Myers We found your site by accident and we are so glad that someone is speaking the straight-up about this bloody lousy city management situation. If we were American citizens, you could be sure we would help vote out the bloody fools running this city. In England, we don't need to wait for specific elections to get rid of the blokes, we just call for a "Vote of Confidence", then have an election. Who do these blokes think they are? You need to load them all in a lorry and take them to the local refuse heap. Let's tip a pint or 2 sometime mate, Cheerio,
Anonymous by Request We in the north wish to thank all of you in the south for supporting our efforts to stop the height abuse asked for by DMB. We had always felt that we were two separate cities under one name but we're now seeing that the divisiveness is coming straight out of city hall. We will return the favor as the ridiculous city staff continues to press for high urban density which is totally out of character for a city such as Scottsdale. The publication "Scottsdale Activist" is a wonderful addition to the city media. You tell it like it is even if we don't agree on rare occasions. Keep up the good work and continue to keep us informed! We don't have the intestinal fortitude your publication possesses so we'll sign ourselves....
Anonymous by request
~ View Past City Council Meetings We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link http://scottsdale.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site. |
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~ Questions?
Many readers have asked why we don't expose those nasty, ugly rundown trashy properties we wish City Code Enforcement would cite and force to cleanup. We feel that it is much better to show the examples of homes that show pride of ownership rather than those trash piles and filth holes we all know about. If you have one of those "nasty" homes in your neighbor hood, email rkeagy@scottsdalaz.gov giving him all of the pertinent information including address, and you don't need to leave your name, unless you want to be contacted.
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~ Where in North Scottsdale is this Well Landscaped Beauty?
I just ran across this beauty while looking for holiday decorated homes I could go back to photograph at night. This is another example of the highly desirable Sherwood Heights homes in the far Southwest corner of our city that has withstood the test of time and style changes over the years. We are very lucky to have these quality homes available for the residents of our World Class city.
Wouldn't it be a shame if those in power would railroad the residents into accepting the higher densities which will eventually eliminate these beautiful homes?
There are many wonderful and beautiful neighborhoods within the city of Scottsdale. Do yourself a favor and take the long way home sometime and see what other home owners are doing to improve their neighborhoods. How does your home compare?
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If you know of an outstanding home which you feel should to be honored by having the picture displayed in the Scottsdale Activist, send the address to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com .
We have been asked why we don't include homes in HOA controlled subdivisions. We are looking for exceptional homes in areas where the homeowner has to be the driving force behind the beautiful home, not the HOA rules and regulations. We would definitely look at any home in a HOA controlled area that is exceptional and owner maintained rather than by a lawn or landscape service, but so far, we haven't been advised of any that meet that criteria.
"All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?""
-- Benjamin Franklin (To Colleagues at the Constitutional Convention)
"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."
-- Thomas Jefferson (Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XIX,1787)
Editors Note: My late father was a "Ham" radio operator for over
60 years and had "Q-So's" with Arizona's own Barry Goldwater and scores
of "Hams" world wide. He also helped get messages to our soldiers in
Korea, Viet Nam, and many other areas where our brave service personnel
were stationed from the North &
South Poles to the deserts of
Africa and jungles of the Amazon from World War II until his passing. He
and many other "Hams" spent hundreds of hours during the holidays making
sure our service personnel were able to talk to their loved ones through
"Ham" radio.
This piece, "Got Marbles", softly and gently filled a hollow place in my
heart so......
From my Dad: "'3's & '8's all around. W1FLZ (1 Funny Looking Zebra) and W6TEV (6 Tiny Excitable Virgins) is QRT to the great "Ham Shack" in the sky."
~ Got Marbles?
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time? Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's "dance recital" he continued. "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities" And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays." "I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to ro und up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear."
"Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey. I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.
A friend sent this to me, so I to you, my friend.
And so, as one smart bear once said..."If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." - Winnie the Pooh.
~Got to Love Rednecks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How do you know when you're staying in a Kentucky hotel? When you call the front desk and say, "I got a leak in my sink," and the clerk replies, "Go ahead."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How can you tell if a Tennessee redneck is married? There's dried
tobacco juice on both sides of his pickup truck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you hear that they have raised the minimum drinking age in Alabama
to 32? It seems they want to keep alcohol out of the high schools.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do they call reruns of "Hee Haw" in South Carolina? Documentaries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Ohio State trooper pulls over a pickup on I-30 and says to the
driver, "Got any I.D.?" and the driver replies " "Bout wut?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you hear about the $3 million Georgia State Lottery? (Come on- this
is funny!)
The winner gets $3.00 a year for a million years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The governor's mansion in Florida burned down! Yep. Pert' near took out
the whole trailer park. The library was a total loss too. Both books -
poof! up in flames, and he hadn't even finished coloring one of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new law was recently passed in Louisiana. When a couple gets divorced,
they are still cousins.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A guy walks into a bar in Oklahoma and orders a mudslide. The bartender
looks at the man and says, "You ain't from 'round here, are ya? "No,"
replies the man, "I'm from Pennsylvania " The bartender looks at him and
says, "Well, what do ya do in Pennsylvania ?" "I'm a taxidermist," said
the man. The bartender, looking very bewildered now, asks, "What in the
world is a tax-e-derm-ist?" The man says,"I mount animals." The
bartender stands back and hollers to the whole bar..."It's okay boys,
he's one of us!"
~ Information You Can Use
~Continuing Light Rail Information
The Scottsdale Citizens
Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for
more questions and answers at
www.norailforscottsdale.com .
================================================================
Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.
If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.
~ Additional Light Rail NOT in New Atlanta Plans
Atlanta is facing the long-term prospect of traffic gridlock, although it has light rail. A summary of the Reason Foundation's solution is pasted below. Note that their new plan does not include more light rail.
Report Calls for Major Toll Road and Tunnel Projects To Reduce Atlanta's Congestion Tunnels and a network of toll lanes connecting all major freeways at the center of plan.
Atlanta (November 15, 2006) A new report calls for a major "rethinking" and "rewriting" of Atlanta's long-range transportation plan and proposes four major toll road projects to significantly reduce the region's current and projected traffic congestion.
Everyone agrees Atlanta's traffic is bad and will only get worse. The Atlanta Regional Commission says that by 2030 a rush-hour trip will take 67 percent longer than it should. In a report released in August, the Reason Foundation put that number at 85 percent meaning what is supposed to be a 30-minute trip would take you over 55 minutes. That's worse than the infamous traffic in today's Los Angeles.
To reduce Atlanta's existing gridlock and accommodate future growth, the new study published by the Reason Foundation and Georgia Public Policy Foundation recommends four essential projects that would be paid for in large part by the private sector or toll revenues and not tax dollars.
1. A network of variably-priced toll lanes added to the entire freeway system, instead of the currently planned (but only partially funded) set of high-occupancy vehicle lanes. These express toll lanes could be utilized free of charge by buses and vanpools, providing a congestion-free alternative that would speed up service and significantly upgrade the region's mass transit system. They would also guarantee drivers always have the option of lanes moving at the maximum speed limit when they are late for work, have to catch a plane, or get to their child's soccer game. This plan would convert the existing carpool lanes into toll lanes and build another 1,132 lane miles to form a seamless network of connecting toll lanes using advanced, hassle-free toll collection technology. The project could be completed in four phases for a total of $9.14 billion (in 2003 dollars). Projected toll revenues suggest that toll revenue bonds could be issued to pay for it without tax dollars.
2. A double-decked tunnel linking the southern terminus of Georgia 400 with I-20 and later with the northern terminus of I-675. The tunnel would provide major relief to the Downtown Connector (I-75/85), the most congested portion of the freeway system. This tunnel is based on a similar project currently being constructed beneath Versailles, France. A tunnel is recommended because the high land values in the downtown area make above-ground expansion too costly. The study finds the full set of tunnels could be built at a cost of $4.8 billion (in 2005 dollars). Toll revenues would support nearly 40 percent of the project, the remaining construction expenses would need to come from surplus revenues from the express toll network or from conventional highway funds.
3. A new east-west link to relieve I-20, made up of the existing Lakewood freeway, extended to the east by a new toll tunnel and to the west by upgrading portions of Campbellton Road and Camp Creek Parkway. On this route, just 28.2 of the 111.2 lanes miles would be toll lanes.
4. A separate toll truckway system, permitting heavy trucks to bypass Atlanta's congestion in exchange for paying a toll. A portion of this system would be tunneled below downtown.
These four projects would cost $25 billion and commuting times would be significantly shorter than they are today.
"Adding significant new roadway capacity is an integral part of reducing congestion in Atlanta," says study author Robert Poole, who has advised the last four presidential administrations and is director of transportation studies at the Reason Foundation. "But capacity expansion needs to be coupled with better system management (such as ramp metering), faster clearance of incidents, and better traffic signal synchronization." The 76-page report addresses all of these issues.
"Congestion costs this region economically, and it has become a huge quality-of-life issue," says Benita Dodd, vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. "Instead of penalizing Atlantans for their chosen lifestyle by neglecting the dire need for added capacity, we should make them consider the value of their trip. Toll lanes provide that option."
The State Road and Tollway Authority issued this statement:
"This report by Bob Poole and the Reason Foundation offers intriguing perspectives in the ongoing dialogue about how to address the metro Atlanta area’s traffic congestion concerns. It should be read and considered by all who are faced with making critical decisions regarding Atlanta's transportation future. SRTA is particularly encouraged by the Reason Foundation's endorsement of tolling and user-fee financing as an important component of any effort to provide mobility and funding options to the Atlanta region and the State of Georgia."
The Reason-GPPF study says by using toll lanes Atlanta can get the private sector to pay for large portions of the construction costs and will need fewer new lane miles over the long haul because priced, managed lanes can maintain their higher rush-hour capacity. Citing experience in California, the study explains how two priced lanes on the 91 Freeway in Orange County handle 49 percent of rush-hour traffic despite representing just 33 percent of the physical lane capacity.
The report also recommends several other ways to reduce the region's traffic delays. Large-scale freeway ramp metering could save Atlanta's drivers 5.75 million hours each year that are currently wasted sitting in traffic. Lowering incident response times and improved signal timing (already part of the Governor’s Fast Forward program) could also substantially ease traffic.
The Reason-GPPF study also credits the Governor's Congestion Mitigation Task Force with making congestion-reduction its top focus. However, the study points out that unless the Atlanta Regional Commission's long-range plan is drastically changed, it will not achieve the Task Force's congestion-reduction goal. The current long-range plan would spend only $8 billion on more roadway capacity, while devoting $10 billion to transit projects. Despite spending $10 billion on transit, ARC projects just a 1.7 percentage point increase in transit ridership (to 8.4 percent of all commuters) by 2030. Likewise, the commission has $5 billion slated for additional carpool lanes even though it expects the percentage of carpool users to actually decrease.
"Atlanta is going to continue to grow and so are the traffic jams," Poole says. "In this case spending most of the available funding on transit and carpool lanes will mean more congestion. With limited resources available, we have to spend money where it will most effectively reduce congestion. For the foreseeable future, toll lanes are Atlanta's best answer."
Full Study Online
The full report, Reducing Congestion in Atlanta: A Bold New Approach to Increasing Mobility, can be found online at www.reason.org/ps351.pdf. Reason's previous report forecasting the future congestion levels in Atlanta is here: www.reason.org/ps346/ga.shtml. Reason Foundation's transportation research and commentary is here: www.reason.org/transportation/index.shtml.
About the Author
Robert Poole is director of transportation studies at Reason Foundation, a free market think tank he founded. The New York Times says Poole is the "chief theorist for private solutions to gridlock. His ideas are now embraced by officials from Sacramento to Washington."
Poole, an MIT-trained engineer, has advised the last four presidential administrations on transportation and policy issues. In the field of surface transportation, Poole has also counseled the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the White House Office of Policy Development, National Economic Council, Government Accountability Office, and state DOTs in numerous states.
Reason's Galvin Mobility Project
This study is part of the Reason Foundation Galvin Mobility Project, which is detailing our transportation crisis and developing practical, cost-effective solutions to traffic congestion. For more information, please visit: www.reason.org/mobility/index.shtml.
About Reason
Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free minds and free markets. Reason produces respected public policy research on a variety of issues and publishes the critically acclaimed monthly magazine, Reason. For more information, please visit www.reason.org.
About Georgia Public Policy Foundation
The Georgia Public Policy Foundation is an independent think tank that proposes practical, market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians. For more information, please visit: www.gppf.org.
Contacts
Robert Poole, Director of Transportation Studies,
Reason Foundation, (310) 292-2386
Benita Dodd, Vice President, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, (404)
256-4050
Chris Mitchell, Director of Media Relations, Reason Foundation (310)
367-6109
Page printed From:
http://reason.org/news/mobility_atlanta_transportation_plan_111506.shtml
Copyright © 2005 Reason Foundation
~
For Continuing Information
on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.
~ "Obsession" A "Must See" for All Americans
This is NOT for Children.
I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,
If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.
~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?
These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.
Click on the link below , then scroll down to read the article:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/AreRedLightCamerasFairToDrivers.aspx
~TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS IN SCOTTSDALE
Dec. 7, 2006
The following is a partial list of road construction projects and
traffic restrictions taking place in Scottsdale Dec. 8-17. For more
information, contact mphillips@ScottsdaleAz.gov
TRAFFIC ALERT:
EMERGENCY LANE CLOSURES ON PIMA ROAD, N. OF PINN. PEAK ROAD
Southbound Pima Road will be restricted to one through lane about 50
feet north of Pinnacle Peak Road from 9 a.m. to roughly 9 p.m. Friday,
Dec. 8, to permit emergency repairs to a water main line.
The southbound left-turn lane on Pima to east-bound Pinnacle Peak Road
will be open during this project, but the right-hand turn lane will be
closed.
North bound lanes on Pima will not be affected, nor will the east- and
west-bound lanes of Pinnacle Peak Road.
---
STREET REPAVING PROJECTS:
These road sections will experience restrictions to permit road
resurfacing:
** Pima Road from Thomas Road to Indian School Road will be closed to
northbound traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11.
** Pima Road from Thomas Road to Indian School Road will be closed to
southbound traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12,
** Shea Blvd. from 136th Street to 144th Street will be restricted to
one lane between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily from Wednesday,
Dec. 13, through Dec. 15.
---
SCOTTSDALE ROAD RESTRICTIONS
** Scottsdale Road at Rancho Vista Drive will be reduced to one lane in
each direction at times from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly through Monday,
Dec. 11, to permit paving work.
** The northbound left-turn only lane on Scottsdale Road at Lincoln
Drive will be closed from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 8,
to permit utility line work. During those same dates and hours, the
westbound curb lane of Lincoln will be closed at Scottsdale Road.
---
CAMELBACK ROAD RESTRICTIONS
** Camelback Road will be reduced to one open lane in each direction
from Scottsdale Road to 75th Street from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
through Friday, Dec. 8, for utility line work.
** Camelback Road will be reduced to one open lane in each direction
from Scottsdale Road to Buckboard Trail from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily Dec.
20-30 for storm drain installation. During this project, no turns will
be permitted at Brown Avenue.
** Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Camelback
Road from 64th to 68th streets through mid December to permit street
improvements.
More information on this project is available at:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/capitalprojects/proj_report.asp?proj=S0301&status=S0301
---
HAPPY VALLEY ROAD, WEST OF 92ND STREET
Single lane closures will take place at times in both directions of
Happy Valley Road, west of 92nd Street, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
daily through Dec. 31 for work on utility lines.
---
McDOWELL ROAD RESTRICTIONS:
** Westbound traffic on McDowell Road at 74th Street will be reduced to
one lane from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, for work on a
water line.
** The eastbound curb lane on McDowell Road, west of 67th Place, will be
closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, for utility line work.
** The eastbound curb lane on McDowell Road, from 87th Street to west
of Pima Road, will be closed between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
daily through Friday, Dec. 8, for median and turn-lane construction..
** The median lanes in both directions of McDowell Road at Pima Road
will be closed between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily Dec.
18-29 for median and turn-lane construction..
---
74TH STREET, McDOWELL TO BELLEVIEW ROADS
74th Street will be completely closed between McDowell Road and
Belleview Road through Monday, Dec. 11, for utility work related to the
SkySong project.
---
CACTUS ROAD RESTRICTIONS
** The westbound curb lane of Cactus Road at 90th Street will be closed
from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly through Friday, Dec. 8, for paving work.
** Traffic in both directions will be controlled by flaggers on Cactus
Road at 90th Street from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly through Dec. 15 to
permit paving work.
** The westbound curb lane of Cactus Road at 100th Street will be closed
from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Dec. 15 for work on utility
lines.
** The Hayden Road/Cactus Road intersection is reduced to one lane in
all directions through mid December to permit road improvement work. As
part of this project, Redfield Road from 79th Street to Hayden Road is
restricted to one lane in each direction through mid December.
For more information on the Cactus Road widening project, visit:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/capitalprojects/proj_report.asp?proj=S2103&status=S2103
---
SHOEMAN LANE RESTRICTIONS:
** Westbound Shoeman Lane, from Buckboard Trail to Wells Fargo Avenue,
will be completely closed from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, to
permit storm drain installation.
** Shoeman Lane, from Brown Avenue to Buckboard Trail, will be
completely closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly, Monday and Tuesday,
Dec. 11-12, for road work.
---
BROWN AVENUE, CAMELBACK ROAD TO SHOEMAN LANE
Brown Avenue will be completely closed from Camelback Road to Shoeman
Lane
from 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, through 6 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11, for
concrete work.
~ Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund
The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.
The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community. By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.
No funds from the SLDF
will or can be used for any political purpose.Contributions shall be kept confidential as
permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank
to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense
Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax
deductible.
The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in
connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and
Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while
ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even
though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale
Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in
Scottsdale. The City Council action was based on a legal opinion
which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of
the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who
was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote
during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as
a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it.
The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct
of the Mayor and Council.
Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:
72nd & Shea 7337 E. Shea Blvd #120 480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral 7908 E. Chaparral # C-113 480-949-0069
Horizon 14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright
480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch
10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131 480-767-2060
Kierland Village 6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133 480-315-2905
There are many other branches throughout the Valley.
~ I remember seeing a sign proposal in the Scottsdale Activist. Can you rerun it for me please? Here it is, just click on this link: Sign Proposal
~ Thanks for giving us links to all of the places where we can send things to our troops. Your efforts to help are greatly appreciated.
~ Runners cross country course on the old golf course. YES!!!
~ Nice Christmas lights pictures. Thanks. Try the areas over by the canal and down in the McDowell areas.
~ What else do you expect from the dynamic duo? Dolan and Manross are old time scammers' from way back. You can't trust them any farther than you can throw city hall with one hand.
~ Thanks Bob Vairo and COPP. Well help you if you help us. Your southern neighbors.
~Is it true that the new head of Human Resources for the city of Scottsdale was fired from the Paradise Valley School District for a decision she made which cost the Paradise Valley School District a lot of money?
~ I already tried running on the Villa Monterey. What a great place. No dogs, No bikes and it's open and quiet.
~ Michael Crow has been screwing the professors and students at ASU ever since he arrived, why shouldn't he do the same to Scottsdale, Manross is easy!
~ Thanks to the Activist for taking the time to keep us informed. Please don't go away.
~ The stupidity in Photo Radar is that the accident rate is still going down so why do the cameras need to be turned on, unless like someone said, the council wants the money and doesn't care about safety at all.
~Code enforcement has been going downhill ever since they decided they need a field manager. Does anyone ever see that phantom?
~Nice to see Nan Nesvig is still in the mix. This young lady is going to make one great City Council person. It's obvious she know "Where it's At" and how to deal with it.
~ Do we get $15,000 worth of free drinks if Scottsdale residents show up at the downtown New Years party?
~ Thank you for giving us the link to the USO. They did so much for us when I was in Korea, I want to return the favor.
~ Put the bronc rider in the middle of the new trolley logo and call it a done deal; no wheels, lines, etc.
~What's with McCullagh? Why doesn't he just write you a note and clear up the question, of course unless as you say, the city paid the bill.
~Are Drew Brown and Manross deaf or blind? I don't see that it could be made any more clear that the citizens of Scottsdale don't want the height or give away any more money. Hey you two, Get a clue, then get a new life!
~If Manross tries to use that ugly high rise logo, I personally will carry petitions to run her out of office. It's funny what you can see in something that is suppose to be benign isn't it?
~ Why doesn't Jan Dolan just resign and get it over with. Can't she tell she's no longer wanted here?
Hello All,
This seems to work well. Click on the link below to Check it out. Helpful hint! Just plug in your zip code and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening.
Be a good neighbor and pass this along.
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Scottsdale Development Update
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The Scottsdale Activist is published, and edited in Scottsdale AZ ~ 480-326-2475